Monroe is a fun author whose novels center on the Goddard Project, a super-top-secret government agency that even the CIA, FBI, and other alphabet agencies have no knowledge of. Their
agents are all black-ops super-spy types who go undercover for as long as it takes to see a mission through.

In this case, Alan Hyatt is selected by the Old Man to go undercover as a reporter seeking a story on the film industry in Vancouver. He is to be a housemate with several
industry insiders. The hitch is that the drop-dead gorgeous hands-off star actress
cum landlady Alan has an alarming attraction to. Her rules don't allow for fraternization between any of the housemates, including her. This could be a problem
- then again, the attraction appears to be mutual, and the problem could blow itself out quickly.

Alan’s real objective is to identify the key players and a technology up for grabs on the black market.
A showing of said technology will take place at the production company in the near future, but the
agency knows next to nothing else. With the limited information available to him, Alan will need to work his charms and take advantage of the lovely landlady’s star position to weasel his way onto the site and nose around.

Jillian, the star of the show, is just as cautious around Alan as she would
be around a burning stove. She doesn’t trust herself with him for a minute; after they begin to get to know each other, all caution
flies to the wind. Her heart was in danger of falling for Alan before her head
can build the proper the barriers. Unbeknownst to her, Alan too is becoming overwhelmingly attached to her, and the thought
is terrifying. How can their completely opposite lives possibly coexist? Is it even possible? The reality
is unlikely, so it's all for naught with both their hearts - or is it?

The spy theme is usually a great one to run with in romance novels - a little of everything falls into such a theme to make a universally acceptable read that is entertaining and exciting in all the right ways. But for all Monroe’s usual successes, Deal with This
is nowhere near the standards she has set for herself and that her readers now expect. While the spy aspect
is as entertaining as ever, the protagonists’ personalities and their less-than-interesting rendezvous
leave most of the novel sluggish and undesirable. While Monroe’s other works have all been great, I am sorry to say
that this one is a miss.